First Time Aircraft Modeler

[wizardz]

hello,

first i would like to say to all of you how amazing you all are. it’s utterly impressive what you can do with a plastic model.

bit of history, i usually build cars, my last one (completed) is a Revell Audi R8

and lately i am building the Tamiya Ferrari 360 Modena.

and then it happened;

my wife asked me THE question: you like airplanes, why don’t you build airplane models?

i read a lot of posts in here, and on the intertubes, but i still have one question;

when i build model cars, i paint everything, then assemble. but when you assemble an airplane, i noticed that most people assemble THEN paint. so here is the question,

do you “pre-assemble” (like wheel wells / cockpit ) some part then paint, then mask the pre-painted parts, then paint the whole thing?

your help is greatly appreciated.

have a good day

[Bish]

I think most of us will have different ways of doing things. For most people, the smaller items are painted prior to assembly, and cockpits are usually painted before fitting into the aircraft. But the bulk of the aircraft, fuselage, wings, tail etc will be assembled and then painted. Many of these kits have seams that need removing or gaps that need filling. Personally, i build as much as i can that will be in the main aircraft colour, and then paint. Leaving off undercarrage, propellers, weapans etc. I paint these off the aircraft and then add at the end.

[sub_revolution]

I think that about sums it up. My suggestion is get a really good kit (like a Tamiya) that will have minimal issues, and then if you are an FSM subscriber, find as many articles on basic aircraft projects as you can. I’m about to attempt my first armor model, so I know exactly what you are going through!

[wizardz]

thanks a bunch for the comments,

i actually bought the Academy F-16 Razorback at my LHS for a couple of bucks ( open box). will see what i can do and will post pictures

(and yeah, i’m an FSM subscriber)

[Reasoned]

I think most of us will have different ways of doing things. For most people, the smaller items are painted prior to assembly, and cockpits are usually painted before fitting into the aircraft. But the bulk of the aircraft, fuselage, wings, tail etc will be assembled and then painted. Many of these kits have seams that need removing or gaps that need filling. Personally, i build as much as i can that will be in the main aircraft colour, and then paint. Leaving off undercarrage, propellers, weapans etc. I paint these off the aircraft and then add at the end.

[dto:] I might also recommend “Building and Detailing Model Aircraft” (Finescale Modeler Books) by Pat Hawkey, this is a MUST have IMO.

[VanceCrozier]

I think most of us will have different ways of doing things. For most people, the smaller items are painted prior to assembly, and cockpits are usually painted before fitting into the aircraft. But the bulk of the aircraft, fuselage, wings, tail etc will be assembled and then painted. Many of these kits have seams that need removing or gaps that need filling. Personally, i build as much as i can that will be in the main aircraft colour, and then paint. Leaving off undercarrage, propellers, weapans etc. I paint these off the aircraft and then add at the end.

[dto:] And I’d stick to some older/less expensive kits for the first few you do, takes the pressure off as you’re trying new methods.

[wizardz]

thanks a lot everyone. looking forward to post my fist aircraft

another n00b question; i was given a bottle of Maskol ( the liquid masking stuff) and i tried it on one of my car body. once dry, the stuff is extremely hard to cut. Any suggestions?

edit: oh i forgot to say, i’m really into modern fighter jets. moar lazorz!!

[Bish]

I haven’t used maskol but i do have the Microscale version. I bought it to mask aircraft canopies but i am not very keen on it. I have found it hard to remove without scratching the canopy. And if you are applying it to a kit and then cutting out the pattern to paint, i would imagine you would have to be very careful not to damage the paint underneath. Alot of the guys on here from the USA use silly putty. You could also use masking tape depending if you want a hard edge or soft edge.

[Hans_von_Hammer]

another n00b question; i was given a bottle of Maskol ( the liquid masking stuff) and i tried it on one of my car body. once dry, the stuff is extremely hard to cut. Any suggestions?

I’m a masking tape guy, myself… Hard or soft edge on the demarcation lines can be done with the tape. For feathered edges, simply fold the tape back on itself for about a 16th-inch. This keeps the edge of the tape from sticking down tight and it produces a “soft” edge. For the canopies, I’m a free-hand painter in most cases, however I do mask occasionally… For free-handing, I mask one or two frames along each edge, paint it with a brush, then remove the mask, repeating the process until the canopy is painted. I don’t let the paint dry, either. the quicker masking tape comes off, the easier it is to remove, and any raised edges that are there will settle back down…

I’ve also used thin strips of tape, cut to the width of the framework, and lay it down over the frames, then mask the entire canopy with rubber cement. Once the rubber cement is dry, I rock (not slice) a knife-blade along the edge of the the tape, then peel off the tape and shoot the canopy. After the paint is dry, I remove the cement by rubbing it off with my thumb. This method works best for me on “bubble” or “blown”-type canopies… It’s also a good way for simulating paint-chipping. Simply paint the metallic in the area you want it, dab the rubber on it in a stabbing, stippling motion, let dry, and paint. Then when the paint’s dry, rub the cement off, exposing the metallic under it…

I’ve tried other liquid masking agents, but always went back to the old school rubber cement… Rubber cement’s cheaper too, by far…

For painting aircraft, generally I paint the cockpit and fuselage interior, engine(s), wheel-wells, and all that stuff inside prior to assembly. Once assembled and all the required fillig and sanding is done, I then paint the outside of the aircraft, masking the cockpits and wheel-wells with damp tissue stuffed in them (or sometimes I use rubber cement to attach the masked canopies and windscreens, strut covers, and doors to paint them as a unit, and to utilize them as masks… Props, tires, spinners, guns, ordnance, and the like get painted separately and attached during final assembly with CA glue, since generally, I don’t care to do a bunch of scraping to get the paint off those parts and their attachment points…

That’s just a general guideline, each model is different and requires a little paint-planning…

[wizardz]

reason i’m asking about the liquid masking is that my “masking skills” are well…not that great. i tought that it would be easier with liquid masking because it conforms to shapes better and looked easier to cut. i was wrong.

i checked the box for my F-16 and the canopy has like a border that i have to paint, but there no ridge for me to “follow” when cutting the masking solution. i’ll try to post pics later.

ps: please excuse any grammatical errors, french is my native language

[VanceCrozier]

reason i’m asking about the liquid masking is that my “masking skills” are well…not that great. i tought that it would be easier with liquid masking because it conforms to shapes better and looked easier to cut. i was wrong.

i checked the box for my F-16 and the canopy has like a border that i have to paint, but there no ridge for me to “follow” when cutting the masking solution. i’ll try to post pics later.

ps: please excuse any grammatical errors, french is my native language

wizardz! Comment ça va?! Je suis sûr que votre anglais est plus bon que ma français. Où vivez-vous ?

If you have a border on your canopy, but no definite ridge to follow, then Hammer’s suggestion of covering the framework with tape, masking, trimming away would probably work quite well.

[B17Pilot]

I would suggest Tamiya tape for masking canopies. I use all the time for masking, if I don’t have an Eduard mask set for the kit that is. The Tamiya tape in thin, low tack tape that will conform to the frames and after barnishing, will help you see where the frames are. Since its thin, not a lot of pressure is needed with your knife to cut it, which leads to not stratching the clear part.

[wizardz]

which one is this?

i have Tamiya’s 6mm and 40mm tape. the 6mm one is fairly thick and hard to cut. i haven’t tried the 40mm yet.

[wizardz]

Bonjour Vance,

je vais bien merci. je demeure à Montreal, QC.

---

Hi Vance,

i’m good thank you. i live in Montreal, QC

thanks, i’ll try the “Hammer’s method”. will post screenies i can’t wait to try my new cellphone’s camera !!

[VanceCrozier]

Ahhh, Montreal - Il y a aussi certains autre membres qui habite en Québec. Vous parler plus tard,

[wizardz]

thanks everyone for the help. i have now an Academy 1/48 F-16 Razorback that i purchased at my not-so-local-hobby-shop

let me say that i was utterly disapointed after seeing “detailed cockpit interior” and finding out that their definition of “detailed” is just a bunch of stickers

is this often the case?

[Hercmech]

Seems to be the case more and more that I have seen that cockpits are beoming decals. I much prefer to paint my switches dials etc…but alas progress goes on.

[Reasoned]

thanks everyone for the help. i have now an Academy 1/48 F-16 Razorback that i purchased at my not-so-local-hobby-shop

let me say that i was utterly disapointed after seeing “detailed cockpit interior” and finding out that their definition of “detailed” is just a bunch of stickers

is this often the case?

I supose some of the manufacturers have decided not to put much time on the OTB details given many “serious” modelers use so much after market product.

[Bish]

You are right, that description is rather decieving. But you do have to take a couple of things into account. Firstly, how old is the kit. I am not to familiar with 48th kits so no idea if this is a new kit or and older one.

Second is the cost. Just done a search of 48th F-16 on my hobby shop of choice. And the F-16 you have is the second cheapest of all that are currently on the site. The only one cheaper is another academy kit.

Theres nothing wrong at aiming at the cheaper end of the market and allowing the builder the choice of adding AM parts. ut they should be a bit more accurate as to whats in the box.

[wizardz]

you are right, everybody’s got a different definition of “detailed”…i was just disapointed.

if i knew that this one had decals, i would simply have avoided it.

since i’m a first time aircraft modeler, i wanted to try out my skills on a cheaper model. even if the cockpit/aircraft is not to scale with not the proper “era/model” block type.

like i said, just disapointed.